My grandmother passed away this weekend. She is my mom's mom and the first of what will be four generations of women to bear the name Jane in some form. I'm leaving tomorrow morning for about two weeks in the Pacific NW and California.
Here's the obituary:
Era Jane Crane joined her Lord on September 20, 2008 at the age of 82. Era Jane was born in Rotan, Texas on September 14, 1926 to William Bunn and Myrtle B. Boren. She graduated from high school in Blythe, California in 1943. On June 17, 1944 she married the love of her life, Charles Leslie Crane. They celebrated 64 years of marriage in 2008.
Era Jane was a devoted member of the Seventh Day Adventist Church for over fifty years. She loved the Lord and served in various capacities with her church. Era Jane was an excellent seamstress and enjoyed making clothes for her children and grandchildren in addition to her own wardrobe. She loved to garden and always had the most beautiful flowers for everyone to enjoy. Era Jane and Charles loved to travel to visit friends and family throughout the United States.
She is survived by her husband, Charles, and four children. Her daughters are Sharon Clark of Acampo, California and Janette (Jim) Zintz in Kelso, Washington. Her two sons are Steven Leslie (Janie) of Barstow, California and Carl Crane of Truckee, California. Also surviving her are eight grandchildren, seventeen great-grandchildren with the eighteenth coming in January 2009, her sister Marcellane Townsend of Blythe, California and many nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her parents, an infant son and three brothers, O.V. Boren, Arthur Boren and Tom Boren.
Era Jane was a kind and thoughtful woman. She will be dearly missed by those who loved her.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Did You Know?
Most of us are keenly aware that our government is in the midst of a "Depression Era-Sized Bailout". I hope that all of us are being responsible citizens and writing our Congressmen to implore them to do the right thing for the taxpayers.
If you don't know how to contact your Senator, please click this link: http://www.senate.gov/
I personally am not enthused about paying more taxes because lenders over lended, or lended to bad debt to income ratio clients, or tricked people into bad decisions on mortgages such as ARMs, or because people bought bigger houses than they could afford. But, it needs to be done. However, it needs to be done correctly and without all of this pressure that the people who should have been paying attention in the first place are now placing on it.
For those of you who are wondering, I am referring to the portion of the bailout that democrats, in Congress and otherwise, purport to pass that will assist Americans who are behind on their mortgage. Besides shooting up the price tag exponentially (some analysts project the figure goes up to 1.25-1.5 TRILLION) it just isn't fair to those of us who have done nothing to participate in the drama!
This is one of the reasons I am so passionate about financial planning, is that although most of the business is conducted on the up-and-up, a lot of corruption exists. People prey on the ignorance of their neighbors and make millions of dollars doing it. Besides helping people make a plan, FPs actually do advise them on investments and insurance. You can sell them the same services you recommend, so long as full disclosure is given about fees and commissions. Too often financial advisors or money managers are recommending things that aren't sound investments to their clients, but will yield crazy commissions for them, like the very mortgage-backed securities that our government is now slated to purchase for above-face value.
What's interesting to me is that in my financial planning studies I have learned that as a result of the Great Depression of the 1930's, the financial services in the US have been divided into three segments: commercial banking, the insurance industry, and the securities brokerage field. You will notice that this is no longer the case, as Bank of America now owns Merrill Lynch, AIG (the one who tanked and was purchased by Uncle Sam last week) sells insurance and securities and pretty much any financial institution you set foot in nowadays has financial advisors on the ready to sell investments to you after you deposit your check and make your loan payment.
This is due to the fact that in 1999 the Glass-Stegall Act of 1933 was repealed and replaced with the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA), also known as the Financial Services Modernization Act. Sure, there had been several decades of debate about this before it finally passed...but, how interesting that an act designed to prevent the Great Depression from repeating was repealed and less than a decade later the system is failing.
I agree, it is in large part due to greed. And the fact that securities brokerages are able to leverage their dollars 30:1 in order to make profits. I don't think Vegas will give you those odds very often, and it's a pity our fiscal juggernauts are extended them on a daily basis.
Please be sure to write your Congressmen and express your opinion on the bailout. It is a huge pivotal point in our nation's history and should be motivated by what is best for John Q. Public, not the deep pockets on Wall Street.
If you don't know how to contact your Senator, please click this link: http://www.senate.gov/
If you don't know how to contact your Senator, please click this link: http://www.senate.gov/
I personally am not enthused about paying more taxes because lenders over lended, or lended to bad debt to income ratio clients, or tricked people into bad decisions on mortgages such as ARMs, or because people bought bigger houses than they could afford. But, it needs to be done. However, it needs to be done correctly and without all of this pressure that the people who should have been paying attention in the first place are now placing on it.
For those of you who are wondering, I am referring to the portion of the bailout that democrats, in Congress and otherwise, purport to pass that will assist Americans who are behind on their mortgage. Besides shooting up the price tag exponentially (some analysts project the figure goes up to 1.25-1.5 TRILLION) it just isn't fair to those of us who have done nothing to participate in the drama!
This is one of the reasons I am so passionate about financial planning, is that although most of the business is conducted on the up-and-up, a lot of corruption exists. People prey on the ignorance of their neighbors and make millions of dollars doing it. Besides helping people make a plan, FPs actually do advise them on investments and insurance. You can sell them the same services you recommend, so long as full disclosure is given about fees and commissions. Too often financial advisors or money managers are recommending things that aren't sound investments to their clients, but will yield crazy commissions for them, like the very mortgage-backed securities that our government is now slated to purchase for above-face value.
What's interesting to me is that in my financial planning studies I have learned that as a result of the Great Depression of the 1930's, the financial services in the US have been divided into three segments: commercial banking, the insurance industry, and the securities brokerage field. You will notice that this is no longer the case, as Bank of America now owns Merrill Lynch, AIG (the one who tanked and was purchased by Uncle Sam last week) sells insurance and securities and pretty much any financial institution you set foot in nowadays has financial advisors on the ready to sell investments to you after you deposit your check and make your loan payment.
This is due to the fact that in 1999 the Glass-Stegall Act of 1933 was repealed and replaced with the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA), also known as the Financial Services Modernization Act. Sure, there had been several decades of debate about this before it finally passed...but, how interesting that an act designed to prevent the Great Depression from repeating was repealed and less than a decade later the system is failing.
I agree, it is in large part due to greed. And the fact that securities brokerages are able to leverage their dollars 30:1 in order to make profits. I don't think Vegas will give you those odds very often, and it's a pity our fiscal juggernauts are extended them on a daily basis.
Please be sure to write your Congressmen and express your opinion on the bailout. It is a huge pivotal point in our nation's history and should be motivated by what is best for John Q. Public, not the deep pockets on Wall Street.
If you don't know how to contact your Senator, please click this link: http://www.senate.gov/
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
It's a Girl!
We had our 20-week ultrasound yesterday, even though I will be 22 wks tomorrow. My blood pressure was high (136/80) and I had gained another 6 (oops!) lbs, for a total of 12 lbs.
Dapo was meeting us there. Our pediatrician used to be in the same building as the OB/GYN, but they outgrew their office space and moved to a new building across the road. Ever since then Dapo has confused the two Doctors and showed up at the OB for Jimi's appts and the Pedi for OB. Yesterday he did it again. No biggie, but Jimi got to go with me to the preliminary stuff instead of waiting with Daddy in the lobby.
My son is very adventurous, and in the OB/GYN's bathroom there are stacks of plastic cups to pee in as well stacks of cups with sealed lids to pee in, as well as those wipes to use before peeing. Let's just say I was very apologetic when I emerged from the restroom. I am sure it is not the first time a toddler has mistaken urinalysis materials for building blocks.
We got to the ultrasound room after Dapo showed up and he was busy holding Jimi still. Dr. Rushing showed us pix of the baby's femur, spine, fingers and in between legs! I called him over just before the big announcement. In the last shot, I was trying to follow along with the u/s and I thought I saw a pair of legs, and I remember thinking, "those look like legs, and there's nothing in between". Soon after, he took a picture, and began typing, "G-I-R..." I said "we knew it!"
Jimi was disappointed to know it was not, in fact, a puppy inside of mommy. Maybe next year we can build a fence and get him one. Until then, he will have to be content with a baby sister!
Dapo was meeting us there. Our pediatrician used to be in the same building as the OB/GYN, but they outgrew their office space and moved to a new building across the road. Ever since then Dapo has confused the two Doctors and showed up at the OB for Jimi's appts and the Pedi for OB. Yesterday he did it again. No biggie, but Jimi got to go with me to the preliminary stuff instead of waiting with Daddy in the lobby.
My son is very adventurous, and in the OB/GYN's bathroom there are stacks of plastic cups to pee in as well stacks of cups with sealed lids to pee in, as well as those wipes to use before peeing. Let's just say I was very apologetic when I emerged from the restroom. I am sure it is not the first time a toddler has mistaken urinalysis materials for building blocks.
We got to the ultrasound room after Dapo showed up and he was busy holding Jimi still. Dr. Rushing showed us pix of the baby's femur, spine, fingers and in between legs! I called him over just before the big announcement. In the last shot, I was trying to follow along with the u/s and I thought I saw a pair of legs, and I remember thinking, "those look like legs, and there's nothing in between". Soon after, he took a picture, and began typing, "G-I-R..." I said "we knew it!"
Jimi was disappointed to know it was not, in fact, a puppy inside of mommy. Maybe next year we can build a fence and get him one. Until then, he will have to be content with a baby sister!
Sunday, September 14, 2008
The Spike From Ike
This summer has been chalk-a-block full of Tropical Storm/Depressions in our area. First Fay, then Hanna, next Gustav and now Ike. Really only Fay and Ike had immediate impacts.
This morning at about 6:50 the power flickered out. I looked outside and noticed it was very windy. I checked online and we were (still are) under a high wind advisory. I took the hint and ironed my clothes and hair as quickly as possible. About 7 it went out for good. It would stay out the remainder of the time we tried to get ready for church. Apparently it came back on sometime around 830.
On our way to church I noticed the gas prices had soared up over $4/gallon, as much as $5.35 in some places! The stations near our house (because we live in the boonies) were "only" $3.67 and 3.59. The cheaper priced station was OUT of gas, with plastic bags over their dispenser handles. The station with gas had a long line of cars, that spilled over into the street. This would prove to be the trend, as all the 10 miles or so we traveled there were plastic bags covering handles, or no numbers in the slots, signifying the station was out of gas. I realize we're in AL, but still a long ways away from the immediate evacuation of Ike. The people overreacting and buying gas, because they are putting the law of supply and demand into effect and raising the price of gas for the rest of us! Even the governor came out and said, this is not price gouging, this is supply and demand. As an aside, our average gas prices were around $3.30-$3.40 before Ike.
I am sure there will be gas next week. In the meanwhile, we are looking at where to buy gas. Not to get the best price, but who even has inventory.
After church it was raining so hard that even Dapo said it was raining hard. Remember, he is from Nigeria-part of the rain forest-and if he says it's raining hard, then it's raining hard!
This morning at about 6:50 the power flickered out. I looked outside and noticed it was very windy. I checked online and we were (still are) under a high wind advisory. I took the hint and ironed my clothes and hair as quickly as possible. About 7 it went out for good. It would stay out the remainder of the time we tried to get ready for church. Apparently it came back on sometime around 830.
On our way to church I noticed the gas prices had soared up over $4/gallon, as much as $5.35 in some places! The stations near our house (because we live in the boonies) were "only" $3.67 and 3.59. The cheaper priced station was OUT of gas, with plastic bags over their dispenser handles. The station with gas had a long line of cars, that spilled over into the street. This would prove to be the trend, as all the 10 miles or so we traveled there were plastic bags covering handles, or no numbers in the slots, signifying the station was out of gas. I realize we're in AL, but still a long ways away from the immediate evacuation of Ike. The people overreacting and buying gas, because they are putting the law of supply and demand into effect and raising the price of gas for the rest of us! Even the governor came out and said, this is not price gouging, this is supply and demand. As an aside, our average gas prices were around $3.30-$3.40 before Ike.
I am sure there will be gas next week. In the meanwhile, we are looking at where to buy gas. Not to get the best price, but who even has inventory.
After church it was raining so hard that even Dapo said it was raining hard. Remember, he is from Nigeria-part of the rain forest-and if he says it's raining hard, then it's raining hard!
A Gift From Grammy
Jimi disrobes to try on his pjs
I guess I didn't get them out fast enough
Jimi takes matters into his own hands
Mission accomplished!
New jammies!He really enjoys his big boy pajamas!
Do I Hafta?
I don't really wanna...
It sure is colorful, though, maybe I'll just take a peek
A Praise Baby CD...wonder what songs are on here?
Can't I read in solitude?
My friend Becky sent Jimi a present in the mail! I was so excited. As you might tell by the pix, I was the only one. He was so grouchy that he "had" to open his present. Nonetheless, I was determined to photograph.
Pah Rump a Bah Bum
I heard a bass-snare combination with an occasional peppering of cymbal the other day. It was actually pretty good, so I thought Dapo was in the music room messing around with my drums. As I would learn, my little drummer boy was at it again. He's getting good!
I took some pix to encapsulate the moment. I can't believe that he's tall enough to reach the cymbals!
Sportin' a Mohawk
I can't help it, I get bored! Sometimes I do Jimi's hair. I don't tell him that that's what mommies do to their girls, so he knows no difference.
I loved the mohawk I put on him one day last week. I used some of Dapo's hair gel.
Box Car Races
If you shop at Costco, you are likely familiar with their get-a-big-box-and-put-everything-in-it philosophy. One day after a trip, I told Jimi we were going to build a box car. I left off the "wheels" and pushed him around on the kitchen floor. I even gave him a conductor's hat. Steam engine/box car, you know, what's the difference really?
Sorry, I couldn't figure out how to turn the pic once it was in the post.
Learning to Bite
Jimi has finally (as of about three weeks ago) mastered the skill of taking a bite out of something, instead of smushing the entire portion in his mouth. He looked all grown up taking bites out of his Eggos I just had to capture the moment.
In a Tunnel
This is one of Jimi's presents he got for his birthday. At first, he just liked to grab it and throw it around. Now he has realized how much fun it can be to use it as a thoroughfare.
Riding Mower
This was before Dapo learned that our front yard was more than a 15% gradient, and he could therefore not mow the front yard with the riding mower.
Please disregard the scowl, and the logo on the shirt.
Kicking up dust
My knight on shining armorFull of Hot Air
This has nothing to do with anything, except that a couple of weekends ago Dapo called me outside to see a hot air balloon. It was right over our house when I went to get the camera, and by the time I got back was up further in the air. Given how close to ground it was, we deduced that the owner/passenger of it must be the guy across the road that does all the extravagant fireworks.
Anyhow, I thought it was cool.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Climbing Jimi's Ladder
Jimi has learned to climb. Up on the couch, up on the window seat, up on the drums, up into the crib. Yes, up into the crib. The house was eerily too quiet the other day, and I knew he was playing in his "child-proofed" room. I went to check on him and there he was...scaling the side of his crib. At first I was freaked out, but then I realized that the THUMP I had heard earlier must've been from a previous attempt, and it didn't seem to hurt him. Now we're in plans to build a toddler bed, since we have received great advice and skill sets and tools from our previous Window Seat venture.
Last Friday I decided the time had finally come to weed my flower bed. It has "cooled" off into the mid-80s, and it had rained earlier in the day and was not too humid. It was a perfect opportunity for weeding. So, even though Jimi has been taking steps, he wasn't a fluent walker yet, so I put him in his walker and he went out with me. As I was weeding, I noticed him beginning to go down the driveway towards the drainage ditch that runs through our front yard (gotta love the South). It is a drop off of about 3 feet, so I yelled at him to stop. He did stop. Then he smiled, and took off again...and tumbled off the driveway into the ditch. Once he started running I responded in-kind towards him, but I was too far away/too slow to catch him.
He didn't fall out of the walker, and despite being a little bruised, he was fine. Whew! That was a close one. Imagining what I must've looked like running towards him reminds me of a story of when I was a toddler.
My dad and brother were outside putting Christmas lights up, as is our custom, on the day after Thanksgiving. I was outside "helping" while my mom was making dinner. Their kitchen is situated with the stove being in the island, so that she can look outside while cooking. I guess my dad and brother went up and expected me to keep playing in the rocks and landscaping. No, sir. I wanted up, too! I do actually still remember my mother running down the driveway, arms flailing, trying to get someone's attention to get her baby off of the ladder! When she finally reached me, I was half way up to the roof. I imagine that her heart skipped a beat that day.
I guess all in all kids are kids and boys will be boys. I try to keep a watchful eye on Jimi, while still letting him have fun and experience his own adventures. While it's doubtful he will remember what his pregnant mother looked like running down the hill towards him, it is certain he will give me many more opportunities to run.
Last Friday I decided the time had finally come to weed my flower bed. It has "cooled" off into the mid-80s, and it had rained earlier in the day and was not too humid. It was a perfect opportunity for weeding. So, even though Jimi has been taking steps, he wasn't a fluent walker yet, so I put him in his walker and he went out with me. As I was weeding, I noticed him beginning to go down the driveway towards the drainage ditch that runs through our front yard (gotta love the South). It is a drop off of about 3 feet, so I yelled at him to stop. He did stop. Then he smiled, and took off again...and tumbled off the driveway into the ditch. Once he started running I responded in-kind towards him, but I was too far away/too slow to catch him.
He didn't fall out of the walker, and despite being a little bruised, he was fine. Whew! That was a close one. Imagining what I must've looked like running towards him reminds me of a story of when I was a toddler.
My dad and brother were outside putting Christmas lights up, as is our custom, on the day after Thanksgiving. I was outside "helping" while my mom was making dinner. Their kitchen is situated with the stove being in the island, so that she can look outside while cooking. I guess my dad and brother went up and expected me to keep playing in the rocks and landscaping. No, sir. I wanted up, too! I do actually still remember my mother running down the driveway, arms flailing, trying to get someone's attention to get her baby off of the ladder! When she finally reached me, I was half way up to the roof. I imagine that her heart skipped a beat that day.
I guess all in all kids are kids and boys will be boys. I try to keep a watchful eye on Jimi, while still letting him have fun and experience his own adventures. While it's doubtful he will remember what his pregnant mother looked like running down the hill towards him, it is certain he will give me many more opportunities to run.
Friday, September 5, 2008
One Small Step for Jimi...One Giant Leap for Mama
I realize this isn't the best lighting, but you can see we are walking ourselves!
This has better lighting, even tho you can't see his right hand, I promise it's not holding onto anything.I had my camera close, and was able to capture a couple of pix.
Hooray for Jimi!
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Kari Eso, CISR
Woo hoo! Today I took and passed the fifth, and final, exam for the CISR designation. I scored a 92%, but as I mentioned in last Thursday's post, only a 70% is needed. It doesn't really matter how well you pass, just that you pass.
Taking this course wasn't exactly convenient, but I really felt it needed to be done. Now Dapo is not the only one in the family with letters behind his name!!
I am really happy and thankful to God for helping me to accomplish this task. Now, if anyone needs insurance...
Taking this course wasn't exactly convenient, but I really felt it needed to be done. Now Dapo is not the only one in the family with letters behind his name!!
I am really happy and thankful to God for helping me to accomplish this task. Now, if anyone needs insurance...
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
A Taxing Story
Dapo is a CNN fiend. He is a self-proclaimed Independent, so I have no idea why he is watching the most liberal news network available. I digress. He watched every minute of the DNC last week and now is giving equal attention to the RNC this week.
During the convention last night, the Republicans did a tribute to Ronald Reagan. I didn't see it, because I was studying, and I'm quite sick of the pomp and circumstance of it all. As an aside, I will be watching tonight when Palin makes her VP acceptance speech.
The Reagan tribute reminded me of a story. I was born during Carter's presidency, and this story occurred sometime in Reagan's first term. That'd put me between 5-9. My brother and I used to walk to the store by our house to buy nickel candy. It used to be penny candy, then nickel candy. One day we went to the store and I had a quarter, so I could buy a couple. (This story makes me feel old!) My brother and I went in and when I got to the counter GASP! the total was .30. The nickel candies were no longer nickel candies. They were now six cents, and I couldn't by five, I could only buy four. I was SO mad, I thought it was the guy at the counter trying to rip me off (see Carrie Dodge for an example of how far I used to be willing to go over the principle of a matter). I was also embarrassed, because I had to put one candy back.
He explained that the reason I wasn't able to buy as many candies this week is because there used to not be tax on candy, and now there is. I was fuming mad all the way home, and told my mom about what happened. She gave no pity, stating that her taxes had been raised, too! I asked who would do such a thing, and she said, the President. I asked her if I could ask him to change it back because I couldn't buy as many candies for a quarter. She said why don't I write him a letter and ask him.
So, I did. I gave full lamentations about my quarter not stretching as far, and how it wasn't fair. I actually thought the President of the United States would either cut taxes just for me, or give the store by my house permission not to charge the extra penny. Well, he did actually write me back (well, someone made a form letter, with a rubber stamp signature) and enclosed a picture of him on his horse at his ranch in California. I guess he thought, "this little girl needs to stop crying about taxes, and start asking her parents for a pony!" The letter that he sent explained to me why taxes were good for roads and social systems and etc. I hated the letter, but loved the picture.
I never did ask for a pony, and I still cry about taxes.
During the convention last night, the Republicans did a tribute to Ronald Reagan. I didn't see it, because I was studying, and I'm quite sick of the pomp and circumstance of it all. As an aside, I will be watching tonight when Palin makes her VP acceptance speech.
The Reagan tribute reminded me of a story. I was born during Carter's presidency, and this story occurred sometime in Reagan's first term. That'd put me between 5-9. My brother and I used to walk to the store by our house to buy nickel candy. It used to be penny candy, then nickel candy. One day we went to the store and I had a quarter, so I could buy a couple. (This story makes me feel old!) My brother and I went in and when I got to the counter GASP! the total was .30. The nickel candies were no longer nickel candies. They were now six cents, and I couldn't by five, I could only buy four. I was SO mad, I thought it was the guy at the counter trying to rip me off (see Carrie Dodge for an example of how far I used to be willing to go over the principle of a matter). I was also embarrassed, because I had to put one candy back.
He explained that the reason I wasn't able to buy as many candies this week is because there used to not be tax on candy, and now there is. I was fuming mad all the way home, and told my mom about what happened. She gave no pity, stating that her taxes had been raised, too! I asked who would do such a thing, and she said, the President. I asked her if I could ask him to change it back because I couldn't buy as many candies for a quarter. She said why don't I write him a letter and ask him.
So, I did. I gave full lamentations about my quarter not stretching as far, and how it wasn't fair. I actually thought the President of the United States would either cut taxes just for me, or give the store by my house permission not to charge the extra penny. Well, he did actually write me back (well, someone made a form letter, with a rubber stamp signature) and enclosed a picture of him on his horse at his ranch in California. I guess he thought, "this little girl needs to stop crying about taxes, and start asking her parents for a pony!" The letter that he sent explained to me why taxes were good for roads and social systems and etc. I hated the letter, but loved the picture.
I never did ask for a pony, and I still cry about taxes.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
